GM: Ed Lynch (since 1995)
| Player | Age | Service | G | fWAR | Salary $M | Surplus $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Grace | 33 | FA-elig | 151 | 4.7 | 4.5 | +0.2 |
| Sammy Sosa | 28 | FA-elig | 162 | 2.5 | 5.5 | -3.0 |
| Kevin Orie | 24 | pre-arb | 114 | 2.3 | 0.1 | +2.2 |
| Brian McRae↔ NYM | 29 | FA-elig | 108 | 2.3 | 2.8 | -0.4 |
| Steve Trachsel | 26 | arb | 34 | 1.7 | 2.1 | -0.3 |
| Kevin Tapani | 33 | FA-elig | 13 | 1.6 | 3.8 | -2.1 |
| Doug Glanville | 26 | pre-arb | 146 | 1.5 | 0.2 | +1.4 |
| Mark Clark↔ NYM | 29 | FA-elig | 9 | 1.3 | 0.6 | +0.7 |
| Frank Castillo↔ COL | 28 | FA-elig | 20 | 1.1 | 1.0 | +0.1 |
| Terry Mulholland↔ SFG | 34 | FA-elig | 25 | 1.1 | 1.5 | -0.4 |
| Geremi Gonzalez | 22 | pre-arb | 23 | 1.0 | 0.1 | +0.9 |
| Terry Adams | 24 | pre-arb | 74 | 1.0 | 0.2 | +0.8 |
| José Hernández | 27 | FA-elig | 121 | 0.9 | 0.5 | +0.5 |
| Scott Servais | 30 | FA-elig | 122 | 0.8 | 1.4 | -0.6 |
| Bob Patterson | 38 | FA-elig | 76 | 0.8 | 1.1 | -0.3 |
| Amaury Telemaco | 23 | – | 10 | 0.7 | – | – |
| Ryne Sandberg | 37 | FA-elig | 135 | 0.7 | 3.2 | -2.5 |
| Dave Hansen | 28 | FA-elig | 90 | 0.5 | 0.3 | +0.2 |
| Dave Clark | 34 | FA-elig | 102 | 0.5 | 0.5 | +0.1 |
| Lance Johnson↔ NYM | 33 | FA-elig | 39 | 0.3 | 1.1 | -0.8 |
| Turk Wendell↔ NYM | 30 | arb | 52 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.0 |
| Marc Pisciotta | 26 | pre-arb | 24 | 0.2 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Kevin Foster | 28 | arb | 30 | 0.2 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Manny Alexander↔ NYM | 26 | arb | 33 | 0.1 | 0.1 | +0.1 |
| Dave Stevens↔ MIN | 27 | arb | 10 | 0.1 | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| Terrell Lowery | 26 | – | 9 | 0.1 | – | – |
| Miguel Cairo | 23 | – | 16 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Ramon Morel↔ PIT | 22 | – | 3 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Miguel Batista | 26 | arb | 11 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.2 |
| Rodney Myers | 28 | – | 5 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Brooks Kieschnick | 25 | – | 39 | -0.1 | – | – |
| Dave Swartzbaugh | 29 | pre-arb | 2 | -0.1 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Larry Casian↔ KCR | 31 | FA-elig | 12 | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.3 |
| Kent Bottenfield | 28 | arb | 64 | -0.2 | 0.2 | -0.4 |
| Robin Jennings | 25 | – | 9 | -0.2 | – | – |
| Brant Brown | 26 | pre-arb | 46 | -0.3 | 0.2 | -0.5 |
| Rey Sanchez↔ NYY | 29 | FA-elig | 97 | -0.5 | 0.9 | -1.4 |
| Mike Hubbard | 26 | pre-arb | 29 | -0.5 | 0.2 | -0.7 |
| Mel Rojas↔ NYM | 30 | FA-elig | 54 | -0.5 | 3.2 | -3.7 |
| Tyler Houston | 26 | pre-arb | 72 | -0.7 | 0.2 | -0.9 |
| Shawon Dunston↔ PIT | 34 | FA-elig | 114 | -0.7 | 2.0 | -2.7 |
| Ramón Tatis | 24 | pre-arb | 56 | -1.3 | 0.1 | -1.5 |
42 players appeared (WAR is complete); salary & surplus are on record for 35 of them (83%). Players without a salary show "–" — no single historical salary source is fully complete (especially 2020–2022).
WAR = FanGraphs (fWAR). Green = produced more value than paid (bargain); red = paid more than produced. Service: pre-arb (<3 yr) / arb (3–6) / FA-eligible (6+). Click headers to sort.
| Player | Year | WAR for CHC |
|---|---|---|
| Sammy Sosa | 1992 | 60.7 |
| Ryne Sandberg | 1982 | 48.2 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 2012 | 31.1 |
| Aramis Ramírez | 2003 | 25.0 |
| Kyle Hendricks | 2012 | 24.4 |
| Derrek Lee | 2003 | 21.4 |
| Jake Arrieta | 2013 | 19.6 |
| Rick Sutcliffe | 1984 | 17.2 |
| Player | Year traded | WAR elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| Rafael Palmeiro | 1988 | 42.3 |
| Dontrelle Willis | 2002 | 20.7 |
| Dennis Eckersley | 1987 | 19.3 |
| Ricky Nolasco | 2005 | 17.5 |
| Jon Garland | 1998 | 17.2 |
| Chris Archer | 2011 | 16.9 |
| Gleyber Torres | 2016 | 15.9 |
| Josh Donaldson | 2008 | 13.8 |